Media content delivery selection

ABSTRACT

A device, such as for example and without limitation, a set-top box, is programmed to receive metadata relating to available media content. At least one item of media content is identified as selected to be provided to a display upon activation of the display. The at least one item of selected media content is provided to the display upon activation of the display.

BACKGROUND

Media content such as videos, television programming, movies, sportingevents, and the like, may be delivered from a variety of sources, e.g.,a conventional cable television or satellite network, a computer serverconnected to the Internet, etc. Further, users within customer premisesmay access media content via a variety of devices, e.g., a televisionconnected to a set top box, a laptop, desktop, or tablet computer, etc.

Often, a media content source provides access to media content accordingto categories to which items of media content are assigned. For example,media content items may be accessed by selection of the televisionchannel, a genre, a subscription level (e.g., basic or premium), etc. Insome instances, the media content provider may wish to make a particularcategory or categories of media content, e.g., a premium channel,available to users on a temporary and/or promotional basis. That is, themedia content provider may make available to one or more users acategory of media content to which the user has not subscribed orotherwise obtained access. However, with the goal of getting the user toaccess the media content and/or category of media content, the mediacontent provider faces the challenge of getting the user to access, andhopefully purchase, the media content and/or category of media content.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary media content delivery system.

FIG. 2 is diagram of an exemplary process for detecting and displayingselected media content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary media content delivery system100. A media source 105 in the system 100 includes media content 110,e.g., streaming content, examples of an item of content 110 including avideo presentation such as a movie, television program, sporting event,video clip, etc. Further, the media source 105 may organize areas itemsof media content 110 according to channels, or other categories, e.g.,genre, subscription level (e.g., basic or premium), rating, etc. Themedia content 110 may be provided in a known manner, e.g. via a network135 to a media device 145 that is generally located in a customerpremises 140.

As discussed further below, media content 110 is generally provided withmetadata 120, including an indication of a category and/or an indicationthat a category of media content 110 is to be displayed, substantiallyimmediately, upon activation of a display and without user input toselect an item of media content 110 for display. For example, a premiumchannel that the media source 105 has made available to users notsubscribing to the premium channel as part of a promotion could beindicated in the metadata 120. A media device 145 in a customer premises140 is programmed to recognize the indication of a category in themetadata 120, and to actuate display of media content 110 in one or morecategories pre-stored in a memory of the media device 145. Content 110in such predetermined categories is sometimes referred to herein as“selected content 110.” Continuing the previous example, the mediadevice 145 could, upon activation of a display, e.g., a powering up ofthe media device 145 and/or associated display device 150, cause displayof an item of selected media content 110 being provided according to theindicated category.

Exemplary System Elements Media Source

In general, media source 105 may include various known elements invarious known arrangements for processing, storing, and providing mediacontent 110 and related data. Elements of the media source 105 may belocal to one another and/or may be distributed amongst multiplelocations. For example, media source 105 may include one or morecomputer servers (some or all of which may be referred to as “mediaservers”) and data storage devices, e.g., for storing and processingcontent 110 and other data such as discussed herein.

In general, the media source 105 may be any one or some combination ofvarious mechanisms for delivering media content 110, e.g., one or morecomputing devices and storage devices, and may depend on a type of mediacontent 110 being provided. By way of example and not limitation, mediacontent 110 data may be provided as video-on-demand through a cable,satellite, or internet protocol television (IPTV) distribution system,as streaming Internet video data, or as some other kind of data.Accordingly, the media source 105 may include one or more of a cable orsatellite television headend, a video streaming service such asgenerally includes a multimedia web server (or some other computingdevice), or some other mechanism for delivering multimedia data. Ingeneral, examples of media content 110 include various types of data,including audio, video, images, etc.

Media content 110 is generally delivered via the network 135 in adigital format, e.g., as compressed audio and/or video data. The mediacontent 110 generally includes, according to such digital format, mediadata 115 and media metadata 120. For example, MPEG refers to a set ofstandards generally promulgated by the International StandardsOrganization/International Electrical Commission Moving Picture ExpertsGroup (MPEG). H.264 refers to a standard promulgated by theInternational Telecommunications Union (ITU). Accordingly, by way ofexample and not limitation, media content 110 may be provided in aformat such as the MPEG-1, MPEG-2 or the H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced VideoCoating standards (AVC) (H.264 and MPEG-4 at present being consistent),or according to some other standard or standards. For example, mediacontent 110 could be audio data formatted according to standards such asMPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), etc. Further,the foregoing standards generally provide for including metadata, e.g.media metadata 120, along with media data 115, in a file of mediacontent 110, such as the media metadata 120 discussed herein.

Media content 110 includes media content as it is usually provided forgeneral distribution, e.g., a movie, television program, video file,audio file, etc. in a form has provided by a distributor of the mediacontent 110. Alternatively or additionally, media content 110 may bemodified from the form provided by a general distributor of content(e.g., recompressed, re-encoded, etc.). The media data 115 includes databy which a display, playback, representation, etc. of the media content110 is presented on a media device 145 and/or display device 150. Forexample, media data 115 generally includes units of encoded and/orcompressed video data, e.g., frames of an MPEG file or stream.

An item of media content 110 typically includes metadata 120 describingthe item of media content. Media metadata 120 in media content 110 mayinclude metadata as provided by an encoding standard such as an MPEGstandard. Alternatively and/or additionally, media metadata 120 could bestored and/or provided separately to a media device 145, apart frommedia data 115. Further, in addition to metadata 120 included in aparticular item of media content 110, the media device 145 could receivemetadata not included in media content 110, e.g., metadata provided to aset-top box media device 145 identifying a category such as aprogramming channel or the like. In one example, the media device 145receives a table or tables form the media source 105 that specifies, foreach available item of media content 110 at a particular time, channelsassociated with each available item of media content 110

Accordingly, the media device 145 may be programmed to associate thecategory with media content 110 items included therein, e.g., providedin the programming channel. Yet further, metadata 120 for a mediacontent item 110 could include an identifier for a category of items ofmedia content 110, the category identifier possibly being associatedwith delivery of a programming channel or the like, such as is known, tothe media device 145 and/or being included in metadata 120 for an itemof media content 110. As explained above, a category identifier mayindicate various categorizations of media content 110 e.g., channels ofprogramming, genres, subscription levels, etc.

Further, as noted above, media metadata 120 for an item of media content110 generally provides various descriptive information for the item ofmedia content 110. Examples of media metadata 120 include informationsuch as content 110 title, chapter, actor information, Motion PictureAssociation of America MPAA rating information, reviews, and otherinformation that describes an item of media content 110. Information formetadata 120 may be gathered from a content producer, e.g., a moviestudio, media information aggregators, and other sources such ascritical movie reviews.

Network

Communications to and from the media source 105, customer premises 140,and possibly other sites may occur via the network 135. In general, thenetwork 135 represents one or more mechanisms for delivering content 110from the media source 105 to a media device 145. Accordingly, thenetwork 135 may be one or more of various wired or wirelesscommunication mechanisms, including any desired combination of wired(e.g., cable and fiber) and/or wireless (e.g., cellular, wireless,satellite, microwave, and radio frequency) communication mechanisms andany desired network topology (or topologies when multiple communicationmechanisms are utilized). Exemplary communication networks includewireless communication networks, local area networks (LAN) and/or widearea networks (WAN), including the Internet, etc.

Customer Premises

Turning to the customer premises 140, the media device 145 is generallya device including a computer processor and associated storage, e.g.,volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, etc., and capable of communicatingvia the network 135. Exemplary media devices 145 include a set-top box,a personal computer such as a laptop, handheld, or tablet computer, asmart phone, etc.

The media device 145 may include a display and/or may be connected to adisplay device 150, e.g., a television, or may incorporate a displaydevice 150, e.g., a display of a personal computer. When content 110 isreferred to herein as being “displayed,” it is to be understood thatsuch display could include any possible mode of displaying media data,such as a display of visual data, audio data, etc. For example, content110 could be displayed by showing video or image data on a screen withor without sound, by playing audio data with or without a visualdisplay, etc.

The media device 145 is typically programmed to receive media content110, including content data 115 and metadata 120 for an item of mediacontent 110, and to interpret the metadata 120, e.g., in a known mannerFor example, the media device 145 could be a set top box or the like,and could include programming to identify one or more channels ofcontent 110 as is known. Further, the media device 145, e.g., a set-topbox, could include programming to automatically tune, e.g., in a knownmanner, to a channel of media content 110 identified with a categoryindicated, e.g., in metadata 120, to have a priority status for display,e.g., to be promotional content. Yet further, the media device 145 couldinclude programming to for display, e.g., to be provided to a display150 such as a television, when the media device 145 is activated todisplay media content 110, e.g., when a set-top box is powered up from astandby mode to an active mode as is known. Advantageously, a user maythereby be provided with media content 110 associated with a category,e.g. a channel, that a provider of the media content 110 wishes topromote or to otherwise expose to the user.

Exemplary Process

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary process 200 for detecting anddisplaying selected media content 110. The process 200 may be executedaccording to program instructions stored in a memory of the media device145, e.g., a memory of a set-top box, personal computing device, etc.

The process 200 begins in a block 205 in which the media device 145receives, from a media source 105, multiple items of media content 110.Typically, one or more, possibly all, of the items of media content 110are associated with a category, such as a channel of programming or thelike. Further, it will be understood that the media device 145 mayreceive only a portion of an item of media content 110, e.g., metadata120. In any event, the media device 145 in the block 205 is typically ina standby mode or the like. For example, a set-top box is typicallyknown to have a low-power standby mode in which the set-top box mayreceive data, e.g., metadata 120 indicating available channels ofprogramming, from the media source 105.

Next, in a block 210, the media device 145 determines whether it hasdetected selected media content 110. As described above, the mediadevice 145 typically stores in a memory and identifier or otherindicator of one or more categories, e.g., a category being aprogramming channel or the like, of media content 110 that is to beprovided to a display 150 upon activation of the display 150. The mediadevice 145 may store a table or the like of available categories, e.g.,programming channels, available to the user, e.g., to which the user hassubscribed. Other categories may be indicated as available to the useras selected media content 110, e.g., the device 145 could be instructedby the media source 105 to store identifiers associated with one or moresuch categories, e.g., channels being promoted and therefore availableto the user for a limited time, whereupon such category could be used bythe media device 145 to provide access to, and to display, a category,e.g., programming channel, via the display 150. Upon detectingavailability of a category of one or more categories of selected mediacontent 110, the process 200 proceeds to a block 215. If no category ofselected media content 110 is detected, then the process 200 proceeds toa block 230.

In the block 215, the media device 145 determines whether identifiedselected media content 110, e.g., according to a programming channel, agenre, etc., meets viewing parameters such as may be stored in a memoryof the media device 145. For example, the media device 145 is known tostore parental controls, user preferences, and the like. If an item ofselected media content 110 is associated with a category stored in thememory of the media device 145, but does not meet viewing parametersstored in the media device 145 memory, e.g., violates parental controlrules, then typically the media device 145 will be programmed to avoiddisplay of the selected media content 110 even though the media content110 is associated with a stored category, and the process 200 proceedsto the block 230. However, if at least one of the one or more selectedmedia content 110 items identified in the block 210 meets viewingparameters stored by the media device 145, then a block 220 is executednext.

In the block 220, the media device 145 determines whether input has beenreceived to activate the display 150. As one example of activation ofthe display 150, a set-top box or the like could be powered up from astandby mode to a full power or viewing mode, possibly along with atelevision or other display device 150. Alternatively, an application,i.e., a computer program, running on a laptop, desktop, tablet, etc.,computer media device 145 including programming to receive media content110 from the media source 105 and to provide the media content 110 to adisplay 150, e.g., a computer screen, could be brought from a backgroundstate to a foreground state. That is, the program could be minimized, orrunning as a background process not visible to the user but started bythe computer 145 operating system and then brought to what is referredto as a foreground state upon user input, e.g., maximizing anapplication window, providing input, e.g., selecting an icon or thelike, to instantiate an interface of the application for userinteraction. In any event, if input is received to actuate the displaydevice 150, then the process 200 proceeds to a block 225. Otherwise, theprocess 200 proceeds to the block 230.

In the block 225, the media device 145 provides an item of selectedmedia content 110 to the display 150. Because the media device 145 couldidentify multiple items of selected media content 110 in the block 210,e.g., more than one channel of programming could be identified for apromotion at a given time, and further because more than one item ofselected media content 110 could pass viewing parameters in the block210, the media device 145 may need to choose one of multiple items ofselected media content 110 to provide to the display 150. Accordingly,the media device 145 may be programmed to rank categories and/or itemsof media content 110 for provision to the display 150.

For example, a memory of the media device 145 may store a list ofprogramming channels to be identified for selected media content 110,along with an order of priority for display of each of the channels. Inthis example, the media device 145 would simply select from ahighest-ranked channel to choose one of multiple items of selected mediacontent 110. In another example, the media device 145 could use someother criterion, e.g., channel numbers, and alphabetical order ofchannels, etc. In yet another example, a criterion could include anexpiration date for selected media content 110, e.g., where a promotionof a particular programming channel ends on a certain date, that datecould be assigned as an expiration date, and channels with earlierexpiration dates could be given a higher priority.

In any case, the process 200 exits the block 225 when display of theselected media content 110 ends or stopped, and then, following theblock 225, the process 200 proceeds to the block 230.

In the block 230, the media device 145 determines whether the process200 continues. For example, the media device 145 could be poweredtotally off, rather than a set-top box running in standby mode,computing device running a media display application in the background,etc., in which case the process 200 ends. However, if the process 200continues, that is, the media device 145 remains active to receiveinformation via the network 135 from the media source 105, then theprocess 200 returns to the block 205.

Conclusion

Computing devices such as those discussed herein generally each includeinstructions executable by one or more computing devices such as thoseidentified above, and for carrying out blocks or steps of processesdescribed above. For example, process blocks discussed above may beembodied as computer-executable instructions.

Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted fromcomputer programs created using a variety of programming languagesand/or technologies, including, without limitation, and either alone orin combination, Java™, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, HTML,etc. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receivesinstructions, e.g., from a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., andexecutes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes,including one or more of the processes described herein. Suchinstructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using avariety of computer-readable media. A file in a computing device isgenerally a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium,such as a storage medium, a random access memory, etc.

A computer-readable medium includes any medium that participates inproviding data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a computer.Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to,non-volatile media, volatile media, etc. Non-volatile media include, forexample, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatilemedia include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate the same elements.Further, some or all of these elements could be changed. With regard tothe media, processes, systems, methods, etc. described herein, it shouldbe understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc. have beendescribed as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, suchprocesses could be practiced with the described steps performed in anorder other than the order described herein. It further should beunderstood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, thatother steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein couldbe omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein areprovided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and shouldin no way be construed so as to limit the claimed invention.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of theinvention should be determined, not with reference to the abovedescription, but should instead be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that futuredevelopments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that thedisclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such futureembodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the invention iscapable of modification and variation and is limited only by thefollowing claims.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadestreasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood bythose skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contraryin made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,”“the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of theindicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to thecontrary.

1. A computing device that includes a processor and a memory, the memorystoring instructions executable by the processor such that the computingdevice is programmed to: receive metadata relating to available mediacontent; identify at least one item of media content as selected to beprovided to a display upon activation in response to user input, of anapplication running in a background status on the computing devicewherein activation of the application includes bringing the applicationfrom the background status to a foreground status; and in response toactivation of the application, provide the at least one item of selectedmedia content to the display.
 2. The device of claim 1, furtherprogrammed to identify the at least one item of selected item of mediacontent according to a programming channel via which the media contentis available.
 3. The device of claim 1, further programmed to identifythe at least one item of media content as selected at least in partaccording to an identifier for a programming channel stored in a memoryof the media device.
 4. The device of claim 1, further programmed toidentify the at least one item of media content as selected at least inpart according to an expiration date associated with the at least oneitem of media content.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the at leastone item of selected media content is a plurality of selected items ofmedia content, the device being further programmed to choose at most oneof the selected items to provide to the display.
 6. The device of claim1, further programmed to provide the at least one item of media contentto the display only if the media content passes one or more programmingparameters.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the programming parametersinclude parental controls.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the mediacontent includes video content.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein thedevice is a set-top box.
 10. (canceled)
 11. A method, comprising:receiving, by a computing device, metadata relating to available mediacontent; identifying at least one item of media content as selected tobe provided to a display upon activation in response to user input tothe computing device, of an application running in a background statuson the computing device wherein activation of the application includesbringing the application from the background status to a foregroundstatus; and in response to activation of the application, providing theat least one item of selected media content to the display.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising identifying the at least one itemof selected item of media content according to a programming channel viawhich the media content is available.
 13. The method of claim 11,further comprising identifying the at least one item of media content asselected at least in part according to an identifier for a programmingchannel stored in a memory of the media device.
 14. The method of claim11, further comprising identifying the at least one item of mediacontent as selected at least in part according to an expiration dateassociated with the at least one item of media content.
 15. The methodof claim 11, wherein the at least one item of selected media content isa plurality of selected items of media content, the method furthercomprising choosing at most one of the selected items to provide to thedisplay.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the atleast one item of media content to the display only if the media contentpasses one or more programming parameters.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the programming parameters include parental controls.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the media content includes video content.19. The method of claim 11, executed according to program instructionsstored in the memory of a set-top box.
 20. (canceled)